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Gene Larson's Shop Notes |
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LINEN THREAD FOR SHIP MODEL BUILDERS
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By: Eugene L. Larson Former NRG Chairman of the Board of Directors Copyright (c), December 1999 Note:
The author does not have a financial or personal interest in this supply
company.
The
photo shows high quality Barbour Irish Linen thread that I recently
discovered in 50-gram spools and 250-gram cones. It is available in natural
color, light beige/cream (in this photo it shows whiter than it actually is).
It is unwaxed, hard surface, single strand, and no
fuzz and no major lumps as found in other linen thread. It is available in
several sizes, but the finest, 40/3 (.014" diameter), is the best for
ship modelers using ropewalks to lay up rigging rope. I thank US Navy Curator
of Models, Dana Wegner, for the suggestion at the 1999 NRG conference
that led me to this source. Professional model
builder and former Editor of the Nautical Research Journal, Rob
Napier has the following comments on the sample I sent him: It (the sample) seems to be pretty nice. It is not as uniformly
smooth as old Ashaway Cuttyhunk
line of similar diameter. The newline has slight
irregularities or bumps in the thickness of the line. They are slight, but
they could impede the ability of the line to run smoothly through blocks or
other fittings. At that size, the swallow in a block would only be slightly
larger than the line. Also, it seems the new line is not circular in section.
In other words, when I held it up so it was silhouetted against a light
surface, it appeared to have a thicker and thinner view. I did not clap a
micrometer on the line, but this did seem evident to me. This could be
attributed to crushing on the spool, but Ashaway Cuttyhunk line doesn't show this defect. If the line is
crushed to be ellipitcal in section,
that means it is not as hard as it might be. Also, the new line has
sharp little fuzzies here and there. They can be
laid down all right with wax, but the Ashaway Cutty hunk line did not have them. The texture of the lay
seems about the same for the new line and the Ashaway
Cuttyhunk. I tried staining the new line, and it
seems to take stain satisfactorily. In my opinion
0.014" is the largest diameter thread that should be used on a model
without showing the individual strands. Above that laid up model rope should
be used. For laying up
threads on a ropewalk, the smaller the diameter of the
basic thread the better the final appearance of the model rope. Very
fine threads are laid up in multiples to obtain the final required diameter.
A lot of thread is used with this procedure, however, this method yields the
desirable distinct strand definition (see the ropewalk and the rigging
material Shop Notes on this web site). The Irish Linen
sizes available are: |
|
Size |
Approximate |
Spool |
Cost |
|
40/3 |
.014" |
250-gm cone |
$59.50 * |
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35/3 |
.014" |
50-gm spool |
$15.20 * |
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25/3 |
not available |
250-gm cone |
$53.45 * |
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Notes: As the first number increases the diameter decreases. Thread is sold by weight, therefore length of thread on the cones and spools is not available. However, they estimate that the
50-gm spool has * Shipping charges must be added (minimum $6.00). There is no minimum order. Phone ordering is the most convenient Also available is Swedish linen: 35/3 20/3 The Swedish linen has fuzz and noticable lumps. The thread is available from: (Free catalog) BookMakers International 6701B Phone orders: 1-301-927-7787 They also accept fax (1-301-927-7715), and e-mail orders Bookmkrs@AOL.com Copyright (c), December 1999 |